Robert Downey Jr.'s Christmas Gift Is a Scrubbed Criminal Record

We're not all perfect, OK? From time to time, we're going to get caught speeding down Sunset Boulevard with a couple bags of coke and smack (one to wake us and one to ease us down) and a .357 Magnum like we're goddamn Dirty Harry. And just maybe, a month later, we'll be found passed out in a neighbor's house (it was empty!) and be cited for trespassing and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

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Listen, these things happen. At least if you're a rich, batshit actor with a last name homonymic to that of a popular brand of detergent. That doesn't mean we should forever have to check off the "Been Caught" box on every job interview and mortgage application. Don't we all deserve a second chance?

Robert Downey Jr. certainly thinks so. In October, he received a court ruling requesting that California Governor Jerry Brown grant him clemency for past drug convictions, including the Sunset Boulevard arrest, which was the precipitating event that led to years of serious legal trouble. Then he waited.

Yesterday afternoon, Governor Brown's office announced the 91 people who received official pardon this year. Most on the list had been convicted of minor drug charges. Only one of them is a generational acting talent: Iron Man himself. The official letter read: "By completion of his sentence and good conduct in the community of his residence since his release, Robert John Downey, Jr. has paid his debt to society and earned a full and unconditional pardon." Booya!

Not so fast, RDJ: That doesn't mean you should pack heat and go on a joyride down to Sunset to celebrate. The arrests remain on your criminal record, but law enforcement is made aware of the governor's decision. But the good news is that job applications should no longer be affected by past offenses. So if you're hard-up for money, may we suggest being a docent for the California Hall of Fame?